


Birthday

by Asylos



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Birthday Cake, Birthday Presents, Gift Giving, M/M, Rhys as Jack’s Personal Assistant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21876628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asylos/pseuds/Asylos
Summary: Tim’s birthday is fast approaching and Jack needs the perfect gift. Rhys isn’t being very helpful by not getting it for him.(Holiday exchange fic)
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Timothy Lawrence/Rhys
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> This was a bit rushed due to life issues but hopefully came out okay. Done for Otterstar’s Borderlands gift exchange.

“Jack no,” Rhys said, with a deep sigh as he picked up the Handsome Jack figurine and eyed the roll of wrapping paper tossed down beside it. 

“What? It’s great!”

“Sure, for the fanboys down in marketing, but not for Tim. If you want either of us to sleep with you again, you’re getting him something better for his birthday.”

“Oh come on pumpkin, this is an exclusive! It’s rare! Collectable.” 

“Jack.”

“Fine.” Jack sat on the edge of the desk and picked the figure back up, turning it over in his hands. “It’s still pretty sweet though.”

Rhys grabbed it back, “Which is why it’s staying right here on my desk. Now back to the drawing board. I know you can come up with something good. Something without the gorgeous face you both share on it.”

“Flatterer.”

“Of course, now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got 50 billion of your emails to reply to.”

Jack stood and shot Rhys a grin, as well as a casual set of finger guns. “That is what I pay you for. Right. I got this.”

“Mmhmm. Shoo. Unless you want to reply to the latest budget requests?”

“Fuck no. I’m out.”

—-

“Soooo,” Jack said, sliding onto the edge of the desk. Rhys watched his careful pile of papers flutter to the floor as they were knocked over and glared. “What are you getting him?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Rhys replied, turning his attention back to his computer. 

Jack started pulling open the desk drawers, ruffling through them until he found a wrapped package. “Aha!” He turned it over in his hands, trying to figure out what it was, and silently admiring how well it was wrapped. “This some kind of book or something?” 

Rhys reached for the package but his long arms weren’t a match for Jack’s quicker reflexes. “Tim still likes to write his stories on paper for some reason. Says writing it on his Echopad just isn’t the same. But then it takes forever for him to get it into the computer for other people to read. So I had R&D put together a special notebook that would let him write it on paper, but it would still send it to his Echopad.”

“Huh. That’s pretty clever.”

“Thank you.” Rhys grabbed the package back while Jack was pondering the idea, and shoved it back in the drawer, slamming it shut. 

“He’s still writing that shit?”

“Kids love Mr. Fluffy. You’re not the only one who uses stories of that bear’s adventures to get to sleep you know.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rhys laughed. “No point denying it, I hear you two at night. ‘I can’t sleep, tell me a story, Timtams. Tell me about Mr. Fluffy.’ It’s cute.”

“Shut your goddamn mouth.”

“Uh huh. So what are you getting him?”

“Something better than your crappy notebook. You’re just giving him work. That’s not a present,” Jack scoffed. He got up off the desk and headed for the door. “You’ll see. My present is gonna blow his fricken mind. Yours too.”

—-

Timothy leaned back in his seat and groaned. “I am stuffed. That dinner was amazing.”

“I hope you still have room for dessert!” Rhys said, setting down the cake in front of the birthday boy. 

Two candles stood up from the eyes of the cat shaped cake, next to where a paw reached up to hold a ball of candy string shaped like yarn. 

“This is just too cute,” Tim said. 

“That’s because I wouldn’t let Jack decorate it so the head was chopped off.”

“That’s Pandoran style, pumpkin!”

“Yeah, well, we’re not on Pandora, and where I come from cakes look /nice/. Go ahead, cut in so we can do presents.” Rhys passed Tim a knife and a stack of plates. 

“You made it?” Tim asked.

Jack laughed, “Rhys? Hell no. The whole place would have burnt down. You know he’s useless in the kitchen.“ 

“Jack made it, but I helped decorate,” Rhys said, glaring at Jack. He left them at the table, going to get his present for Tim from the other room.

Rhys sat back down next to Tim and took his slice of cake, which looked to have been cut from the tail of the cat. The layers of strawberries and cream oozed out as he pressed his fork into it. A small concession to Jack’s Pandoran tastes, but one that actually tasted good. He handed Tim the wrapped present and waited while he tore off the rainbow pattern paper.

Tim ran his fingers down the plain cover, and felt the thickness of the plain lined pages and gave Rhys a curious look. He knew there must be something more to it. Rhys explained how it worked and his eyes widened. “Oh that’s perfect. And no one will know it’s anything special since it looks like it’s just a regular book. Thanks Rhys!” He started to lean forward to give Rhys a hug but Jack put a hand out and pushed him back.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. That’s neat and all but check this out. Give me your digicloner.”

With a puzzled look, but no argument, he knew better than to argue with a determined Jack, Tim slipped off the bracer and handed it over. Jack plugged a drive into the hidden port, running a quick program on it before giving it back. Tim slipped it back on and re-synced. He blinked a few times at the new options, then summoned the question mark labeled digiclone. A bright digital bear appeared. “Mr. Fluffy?”

Jack grinned. “In the digital .. uh flesh?”

“You made a combat skin of Mr. Fluffy?” Rhys asked incredulously.

“Well, it doesn’t have to be for combat,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “You can put in one of those stories of yours and it’ll project the whole thing. Act it out while you read it or something. I dunno, it was a stupid idea. Whatever.”

“No no, Jack, this is amazing!” Tim said quickly. He wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into a tight hug as Mr. Fluffy started to chase after a projection of a butterfly. 

“Yeah, it’s really cool! Definitely the best present, Jack,” Rhys said with a soft smile. “You picked a good one.”

“Of course I did. Nothing but the best for my Timtams. Don’t be jealous Rhys, just wait till your birthday, you’ll get a turn,” Jack said, bravado back in full force.


End file.
